SILVERBERG, Robert

(1935-)

   Extremely prolific US writer, author of more than 100 sf books, more than 60 nonfiction books and a great deal of other work, including an estimated 100-150 erotic novels as by Don Elliott and other undisclosed pseudonyms; he has also edited or co-edited more than 60 anthologies. He began to write while studying for his BA at Columbia University; his first published story was "Gorgon Planet" (1954). His first novel, a juvenile, was Revolt on Alpha C (1955). He began to publish prolifically in 1956, winning a HUGO in that year as Most Promising New Author, and continued to specialize in sf for 3 years. He worked for the ZIFF-DAVIS stable, producing wordage at assembly-line speed for AMAZING STORIES and FANTASTIC, and was a prolific contributor to such magazines as SCIENCEFICTION ADVENTURES and SUPER-SCIENCE FICTION, using many different names. For part of this time Randall GARRETT was a partner in this "fiction factory"; they wrote in collaboration as Robert Randall, Gordon Aghill and Ralph Burke (RS also used the Burke pseudonym on solo work). The mostimportant pseudonyms which RS used exclusively were Calvin M. Knox and David Osborne; he also wrote sf as T.D. Bethlen, Dirk Clinton, Dan Elliot,Ivar Jorgenson (a variant spelling of the floating pseudonym Ivar JORGENSEN), Dan Malcolm, Webber Martin, Alex Merriman, George Osborne, Eric Rodman, Hall Thornton and Richard F. Watson. He appeared under such Ziff-Davis house names as Robert ARNETTE, Alexander BLADE, E.K. JARVIS, Warren KASTEL and S.M. TENNESHAW; Blade and Tenneshaw were used also on collaborations with Garrett, as were Richard GREER, Clyde MITCHELL, Leonard G. SPENCER and Gerald VANCE. Silverberg wrote 1 story incollaboration with his 1st wife Barbara; The Mutant Season (1989), a novel developed from one of his short stories by his 2nd wife (from 1987) Karen HABER, was published as a collaboration. Later volumes were by Haberalone.He also published 3 "collaborations" with Isaac ASIMOV, developing full-length novels from classic Asimov short stories: these are Nightfall (1941 ASF; exp 1990 UK; vt The Ugly Little Boy 1992 US), Child of Time(1958 Gal as "Lastborn"; vt "The Ugly Little Boy"; exp 1991 UK) and The Positronic Man (in Stellar, anth 1976, ed Judy-Lynn DEL REY as "The Bicentennial Man"; exp 1992 UK).The most notable novels of RS's early period are Master of Life and Death (1957 dos), a novel dealing with institutionalized measures to combat OVERPOPULATION, Invaders from Earth (1958 dos), a drama of political corruption involved with the COLONIZATIONof Ganymede, and Recalled to Life (1958 Infinity; 1962; rev 1972), which investigates the social response to a method of reviving the newly dead. The Nidorian series, which he wrote with Garrett as Robert Randall - TheShrouded Planet (fixup 1957) and The Dawning Light (1959) - is also interesting.As the magazine market shrank, in 1959 RS virtually abandoned sf for some years. The majority of the sf books he published 1960-66 were rewritten from work originally done in 1957-9. His output was prodigious, but somewhat mechanical, except for a handful of nonfiction books - notably The Golden Dream (1967) and Mound-Builders of Ancient America (1968), which were painstakingly researched and carefully written.A newphase of RS's career, in which he brought the full range of his artistic abilities to bear on writing sf, began with Thorns (1967), a stylized novel of alienation and psychic vampirism, and Hawksbill Station (1968; vt The Anvil of Time 1969 UK), in which political exiles are sent back intime to a Cambrian prison camp; this full-length version should not be confused with the novelette version, Hawksbill Station (1967 Gal; 1990 chap dos). The Masks of Time (1968; vt Vornan-19 1970 UK) describes a visit by an enigmatic time traveller to the world of 1999. The Man in the Maze (1969) is a dramatization of the problems of alienation, based on theGreek myth of Philoctetes, the hero whose wound makes him both necessary and repulsive. Nightwings (fixup 1969) is a lyrical account of the conquest of a senescent Earth by ALIENS, which culminates with the rebirth of its hero; it should not be confused with the Hugo-winning novella which contributed to the fixup, Nightwings (1968 Gal; 1989 chap dos). Up the Line (1969) is a clever TIME-PARADOX story. Downward to the Earth (1970)is a story of repentance and rebirth, with calculated echoes of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (1902) and strong religious imagery (RELIGION). Tower of Glass (1970) also makes use of religious imagery in its study of the obsessional construction of a new "Tower of Babel" and the struggle of an ANDROID race to win emancipation. A TIME OF CHANGES (1971) describes a society in which selfhood is a cardinal sin. Son of Man(1971) is a surreal evolutionary fantasy of the FAR FUTURE. The World Inside (fixup 1971) is a study of life under conditions of high population density. The Second Trip (1972) is an intense psychological novel describing the predicaments of a telepathic girl and a man who has been newly created in the body of an "erased" criminal. The Book of Skulls (1971) is a painstaking analysis of relationships among 4 young men on acompetitive quest for IMMORTALITY. Dying Inside (1972) is a brilliant study of a telepath losing his power. The Stochastic Man (1975) is a complementary study of a man developing the power to foresee the future. Shadrach in the Furnace (1976) concerns the predicament of the personalphysician of a future dictator who finds his identity in jeopardy. After writing the last-named, RS quit writing for 4 years, ostensibly because of his disenchantment with the functioning of the sf marketplace, where his books seemed to him to be suffering "assassination" as they were allowed to go out of print after a few months; sheer exhaustion may also have been a factor.In view of the sustained quality of this astonishing burst of creativity, it is perhaps surprising that only one of these full-length works won a major award in the USA - A TIME OF CHANGES (NEBULA). Several better novels, most notably Dying Inside, went unrewarded, perhaps because the voters found them too intense and too uncompromising in their depictions of anguish and desperation. RS did, however, win awards for several shorter pieces: the novella Nightwings won a Hugo, and Nebulas went to "Passengers" (1968), a story about people who temporarily lose control of their bodies to alien invaders, "Good News from the Vatican" (1970), about the election of the first ROBOT pope, and the brilliantnovella Born with the Dead (1974; 1988 chap dos), about relationships between the living and the beneficiaries of a scientific technique guaranteeing life after death. The novella "The Feast of St Dionysus" (1972), about the experience of religious ecstasy, won a Jupiter award; itbecame the lead title of one of his finest collections, The Feast of St Dionysus (coll 1975), which also includes "Schwartz Between the Galaxies"(1974). In addition to his award-winners RS published a great deal of excellent short fiction during this second phase of his career. Particularly notable are "To See the Invisible Man" (1963), assembled inEarth's Other Shadow (coll 1973), "Sundance" (1969), assembled in The Cube Root of Uncertainty (coll 1970), and "In Entropy's Jaws" (1971), assembled in The Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities (coll 1972). Other collections assembling material from this period include The Calibrated Alligator (coll 1969), Dimension Thirteen (coll 1969), Parsecs andParables (coll 1970), Moonferns and Starsongs (coll 1971), Unfamiliar Territory (coll 1973), Sundance and Other Science Fiction Stories (coll 1974), Born with the Dead (coll 1974), Sunrise on Mercury (coll 1975), The Best of Robert Silverberg (coll 1976) and The Best of Robert Silverberg, Volume Two (coll 1978), Capricorn Games (coll 1976), The Shores of Tomorrow (coll 1976), The Songs of Summer and Other Stories (coll 1979 UK), and Beyond the Safe Zone: The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Silverberg (coll 1986).RS returned to writing with Lord Valentine's Castle (1980), a polished but rather languid HEROIC FANTASY set on the world of Majipoor, where he also set the shorter pieces - including The Desert of Stolen Dreams (1981 chap) - collected in The Majipoor Chronicles (coll of linked stories 1982). The addition of Valentine Pontifex (1983), a sequel to the novel, converted the series into a trilogy of sorts. In the mid 1990s, beginning with The Mountains of Majipoor (1995 UK), several newvolumes were projected. Almost all of RS's work of the 1980s was in the same relaxed vein: the psychological intensity of his mid-period work was toned down, and much of his sf was evidently pitched towards what RS considered to be the demands of the market. His work of this period has been commercially successful, but the full-length sf often seems rather mechanical; the historical novels Lord of Darkness (1983) and Gilgamesh the King (1984) appear to have been projects dearer to his heart. The gypsy king in Star of Gypsies (1986), waiting in self-imposed exile for his one-time followers to realize how badly they need him, might be reckoned an ironic self-portrait. The best works of this third phase of RS's career are novellas, most notably Sailing to Byzantium (1985), winnerof a 1985 Nebula, and The Secret Sharer (1988), a sciencefictionalization of CONRAD's 1912 story of the same title. RS also won Hugo awards in this period for the novella "Gilgamesh in the Outback" (1986), which was a sequel to Gilgamesh the King and was integrated into To the Land of the Living (fixup 1989), and the novelette "Enter a Soldier. Later, EnterAnother" (1989). His recent work includes the first 2 vols of the New Springtime trilogy about the repopulation of Earth by various races (not including humans) after a future ice age - At Winter's End (1988; vt Winter's End 1990 UK) and The Queen of Springtime (1989 UK; vt The NewSpringtime 1990 US) - a novel about humans living as exiles on a watery world after the destruction of Earth, The Face of the Waters (1991 UK); and Hot Sky at Midnight (fixup 1994), a tale which, set in the early years of the 21st century, is told in a tone of searingly bleak pessimism increasingly to be encountered in sf writers in their late prime as the millennium approaches. Much of his short fiction of this period is assembled in The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party (coll 1984),The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Volume One: Pluto in the Morning Light (coll1992 UK; vt The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Volume One: Secret Sharers 1992 US) and The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Volume Two: The Secret Sharer (coll 1993 UK; cut 1993 US). He remains one of the most imaginative and versatile writers ever to have been involved with sf. His productivity has seemed almost superhuman, and his abruptmetamorphosis from a writer of standardized pulp fiction into a prose artist was an accomplishment unparalleled within the field.As an editor, RS was responsible for an excellent series of original ANTHOLOGIES, NEWDIMENSIONS (see listing below). In collaboration with Haber he has taken over the UNIVERSE series once ed Terry CARR, relaunching the title with Universe 1 (anth 1990),Universe 2 (anth 1992) and Universe 3 (anth 1994).He has also been a prolific compiler of ORIGINAL ANTHOLOGIES that comprise 3 novellas, and has edited many reprint anthologies, recently doing much of this kind of work in collaboration with Martin H. GREENBERG. RS was president of the SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA 1967-8. The MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION published a special issue devoted to him inApr 1974. An autobiographical essay appeared in Hell's Cartographers (anth 1975) ed Brian W. ALDISS and Harry HARRISON.

BS

   Other works: The 13th Immortal (1957 dos); Aliens from Space (1958) as by David Osborne; Invisible Barriers (1958) as by Osborne; Lest We Forget Thee, Earth (fixup 1958 dos) as by Calvin M. Knox; Starhaven (1958) as by Ivar Jorgenson; Stepsons of Terra (1958 dos); The Planet Killers (1959 dos); The Plot against Earth (1959 dos) as by Knox; Starman's Quest (1959); Lost Race of Mars (1960); Collision Course (1961); Next Stop the Stars (coll 1962 dos);The Seed of Earth (1962 dos); The Silent Invaders (1958 Infinity as by Knox; exp 1963 dos; with "Valley beyond Time" added, as coll 1985); Godling, Go Home! (coll 1964); One of Our Asteroids is Missing (1964 dos) as by Knox; Regan's Planet (1964); Time of the Great Freeze (1964); Sex Machine (1964) as by Dan Elliot; Conquerors from the Darkness (1957Science Fiction Adventures as "Spawn of the Deadly Sea"; 1965); To Worlds Beyond (coll 1965); Needle in a Timestack (coll 1966; rev 1967 UK); The Gate of Worlds (1967); Planet of Death (1967); Those who Watch (1967); The Time-Hoppers (1956 Infinity as "Hopper"; exp 1967); To Open the Sky (fixup 1967); Across a Billion Years (1969); Three Survived (1957; exp 1969); To Live Again (1969); World's Fair 1992 (1970); Valley beyond Time (coll 1973); Unfamiliar Territory (coll 1973); A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (omni 1981); World of a Thousand Colors (coll 1982); Tom O'Bedlam (1985); Nightwings (graph 1985), an adaptation in GRAPHIC-NOVEL form; Project Pendulum (1987), a juvenile; In Another Country (1990 chap dos) with C.L. MOORE's Vintage Season (1946), to which it is a sequel; Lion Time in Timbuctoo (1990); Letters from Atlantis (1990); Thebes of the Hundred Gates (1991); Kingdoms of the Wall (1992 UK).Omnibuses: A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (omni 1970 UK), assembling Master of Life and Death, Invaders from Earth and The Time-Hoppers; Science Fiction Special (30): Invaders from Earth; The Best of Robert Silverberg (omni 1978 UK); Conquerors from the Darkness, and Master of Life and Death (omni 1979); Invaders from Earth, and To Worlds Beyond (omni 1980); A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (omni 1981), assembling The Man in the Maze, Nightwings and Downward to the Earth; The Masks of Time/Born with the Dead/Dying Inside (omni 1988); Three Novels: The World Inside/Thorns/Downward to the Earth (omni 1988); The Book of Skulls/Nightwings/Dying Inside (omni 1991).Nonfiction: Drug Themes in Science Fiction (1974 chap).As Editor: Earthmen and Strangers (anth 1966); Voyagers in Time (anth 1967), Men and Machines (anth 1968); Dark Stars (anth 1969); Three for Tomorrow (anth 1969; UK edn credits Arthur C. CLARKE as ed); Tomorrow's Worlds (anth 1969); The Ends of Time (anth 1970); Great Short Novels of Science Fiction (anth 1970); The Mirror of Infinity (anth 1970); Worlds of Maybe (anth 1970); The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol 1 (anth 1970); To the Stars (anth 1971); Four Futures (anth 1971); Mind to Mind (anth 1971); The Science Fiction Bestiary (anth 1971); Beyond Control (anth 1972); Invaders from Space (anth 1972); The Day the Sun Stood Still (anth 1972); Chains of the Sea (anth 1973); Other Dimensions (anth 1973); Three Trips in Time and Space (anth 1973); No Mind of Man (anth 1973); Deep Space (anth 1973);Threads of Time (anth 1974); Mutants (1974); Infinite Jests (anth 1974); Windows into Tomorrow (anth 1974); The Aliens (anth 1976); Epoch (anth 1975) with Roger ELWOOD; The New Atlantis (anth 1975); Strange Gifts (anth 1975); Explorers of Space (anth 1975); The Crystal Ship (anth 1976); The Aliens (anth 1976); The Infinite Web (anth 1977); Earth is the Strangest Planet (anth 1977); Trips in Time (anth 1977); Triax (anth 1977); Galactic Dreamers: Science Fiction as Visionary Literature (anth 1977); The Androids are Coming (anth 1979); Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons (anth 1978); The Edge of Space (anth 1979); Car Sinister (anth 1979) with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. OLANDER; Dawn of Time: Prehistory through Science Fiction (anth 1979) with Greenberg and Olander; The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (anth 1980; cut vt Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century 1987) with Greenberg; The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels (anth 1980; cut vt Worlds Imagined 1988) with Greenberg; The Science Fictional Dinosaur (anth 1982) withGreenberg and Charles G. WAUGH; The Best of Randall Garrett (coll 1982); The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces (anth 1983; cut vt Great Tales of Science Fiction 1988) with Greenberg; The Fantasy Hall of Fame (anth 1983; vt The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats 1988 UK) with Greenberg; Nebula Award Winners 18 (anth 1983); The TimeTravelers: A Science Fiction Quartet (anth 1985) with Greenberg; Neanderthals (anth 1987) with Greenberg and Waugh; Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder (anth 1987); Time Gate (anth 1989); Time Gate 2: Dangerous Interfaces (anth 1990); Beyond the Gate of Worlds (anth 1991); The Horror Hall of Fame (anth 1991) with Greenberg; The Ultimate Dinosaur (anth 1992) with Byron PREISS; Murasaki (anth 1992) with Greenberg (uncredited), assembling stories set in an elaborated crafted shared world.Series: The Alpha sequence of anthologies, comprising Alpha One (anth 1970), Two (anth 1971), Three (anth 1972), Four (anth 1973), Five(anth 1974), Six (anth 1975), 7 (anth 1977), 8 (anth 1977) and 9 (anth 1978); the New Dimensions sequence of original anthologies, comprising New Dimensions I (anth 1971), \#2 (anth 1972), \#3 (anth 1973), \#4 (anth 1974), \#5 (anth 1975), \#6 (anth 1976), \#7 (anth 1977), \#8 (anth 1978), \#9 (anth 1979), \#10 (anth 1980), \#11 (anth 1980) with Marta RANDALL and \#12 (anth 1981) with Randall, plus The Best of New Dimensions (anth 1979).

   About the author: Robert Silverberg: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1983) and Robert Silverberg (1983 chap), both by Thomas D. CLARESON.

   See also: ACE BOOKS; ALTERNATE WORLDS; ANTHROPOLOGY; APES AND CAVEMEN (IN THE HUMAN WORLD); ARTS; BLACK HOLES; CHILDREN'S SF; CITIES; COMICS; COMPUTERS; CONCEPTUAL BREAKTHROUGH; CRIME AND PUNISHMENT; CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL WORKS ABOUT SF; DC COMICS; DYSTOPIAS; END OF THE WORLD; ENTROPY; ESCHATOLOGY; ESP; EVOLUTION; FANTASTIC VOYAGES; GALACTIC EMPIRES; GODS AND DEMONS; HIVE-MINDS; INTELLIGENCE; INVASION; INVISIBILITY; JOHN W. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL AWARD; JUPITER; MATHEMATICS; MATTER TRANSMISSION; MEDIA LANDSCAPE; MESSIAHS; METAPHYSICS; MILFORD SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS' CONFERENCE; MONSTERS; MUSIC; MYTHOLOGY; NEW WAVE; PARALLEL WORLDS; PARASITISM AND SYMBIOSIS; PASTORAL; PERCEPTION; PLANETARY ROMANCE; POLITICS; PSYCHOLOGY; REINCARNATION; ROBERT HALE LIMITED; SEX; SHARED WORLDS; SOCIOLOGY; SPACE OPERA; SUN; SUPERMAN; TIME TRAVEL; TRANSPORTATION; UNDER THE SEA; WOMEN SF WRITERS; WRITERS OF THE FUTURE CONTEST.